The Sioux Falls Stampede staked out a 3-0 lead in the opening 40 minutes Friday, then held on to defeat the Waterloo Black Hawks 3-2 at Denny Sanford Premier Center.

The Hawks' third period comeback fell short, despite Waterloo outshooting the home team 12-6 in the final 20 minutes.  Xavier Medina carried a shutout through more than 51 minutes of action and finished with 31 saves to earn his third victory in the season series between the teams.
 
Waterloo had some strong chances during a late first period power play, but a turnover just after the Stampede came to full strength led to the only goal in the opening 20 frame.  Tyler Borgula came out of the penalty box to a breakaway chance, set up by Sam Harris at 16:06.  Borgula made sure the puck went between the pipes after Jack Spicer made a partial save on the initial chance.

The Stampede built on their lead in the second.  After a failed clear at 7:33, Max Rud sent a dipping shot toward the net, which found its way past traffic and between the pipes.  Then Sioux Falls capitalized in the early seconds of a power play, with Isaac Gordon swatting at the puck a couple of times just outside the crease on his way to making it 3-0 at 13:02.

The Hawks' breakthrough came with 8:25 remaining in regulation.  Owen Baker gained control of the puck in the right corner, then slipped it to Garrett Schifsky along the end wall.  From there, Schifsky connected with Sam Rinzel, who found room in the slot to rifle a shot past Medina.

Waterloo pulled Spicer with three-and-a-half minutes to play and added a six-on-five goal at 18:57.  Playing in his first Black Hawks game, Caden Brown moved the puck quickly to Baker in the slot, and the veteran Waterloo forward snapped his chance under the crossbar.

The loss drops the Hawks to 3-6-0 as a road team this season.

The Black Hawks return home to wrap up December and calendar year 2022 on Saturday with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Youngstown Phantoms.  All fans in attendance will receive a free bowling offer for either Cadillac Lanes or Maple Lanes in Waterloo.  Good seats are still available from the Domino's Black Hawks Box Office by calling (319) 291-7680 or visiting tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com.

Waterloo 0 0 2 - 2
Sioux Falls 1 2 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Sioux Falls, Borgula 2 (Harris), 16:06. Penalties-Borgula Sf (bench minor-too many men), 13:55.

2nd Period-2, Sioux Falls, Rud 3   7:33. 3, Sioux Falls, Gordon 5 (Harris, Rud), 13:02 (PP). Penalties-Sobieski Sf (tripping), 9:44; Rinzel Wat (slashing), 12:35.

3rd Period-4, Waterloo, Rinzel 2 (Schifsky, Baker), 11:35. 5, Waterloo, Baker 4 (Brown, Rinzel), 18:57. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Waterloo 11-10-12-33. Sioux Falls 8-16-6-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Waterloo 0 / 2; Sioux Falls 1 / 1.
Goalies-Waterloo, Spicer 8-4-0-0 (30 shots-27 saves). Sioux Falls, Medina 6-5-2-0 (33 shots-31 saves).
A-4,321
Referees-Alex Berard.
Linesmen-Reilly Hickey, Jordan Staples.